How long can penguins hold their breaths?

The only time penguins are airborn is when they leap out of the water.  Penguins will often do this to get a gulp of air before diving back down for fish.  Penguins cannot breathe underwater, though they are able to hold their breath for a long time.  They also use their ability to leap out of the water to get from the ocean onto land if there are cliffs or ice flows to deal with.

New research has revealed how the Emperor Penguin is able to dive to depths of over 500m and stay under water for up to 27 minutes – deeper and longer than any of its fellow avian species.

Researchers from the University of California will be presenting their new findings at the International Penguin Conference (IPC) which begins in Bristol today [02 September].

It's the first time the conference has been held in Europe, with 200 delegates from 30 countries sharing their latest research and knowledge at the University of Bristol and Bristol Zoo Gardens between 2 and 6 September.

Alexandra Wright and Dr Paul Ponganis investigated the heart rate response of Emperor Penguins as they made foraging trips to see from the Cape Washington Colony in Antarctica.

They measured heart rates using an electrocardiogram (ECG) recorder and looked at dive behaviour with a time depth recorder (TDR) and found that the penguins slow their heart from the normal rate of around 70 beats per minute to as low as 10 beats per minute.

Emperor Penguins also have unusually structured hemoglobin to allow it to function at low oxygen levels, solid bones to reduce barotrauma - physical damage to body tissues caused by a difference in pressure between a gas space inside, or in contact with the body, and the surrounding fluid, and the ability to reduce metabolism and to shut down non-essential organ functions.

The profound decline in heart rate - known as bradycardia – decreases oxygen consumption, conserves the respiratory and blood oxygen stores, and isolates muscle, which must rely instead on its own oxygen store which is bound to the muscle protein, myoglobin.

Although this heart rate response contrasts with other birds and terrestrial mammals, it is similar to the dive response of marine mammals.

More information: Britain is to host the International Penguin Conference from 2 to 6 September in Bristol.

Provided by University of Bristol

Citation: Emperor Penguin can stay under water for up to 27 minutes, new research reveals (2013, September 1) retrieved 19 December 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2013-09-emperor-penguin-minutes-reveals.html

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A new record has been set for the longest dive by an emperor penguin. In a study led by NIWA marine ecologist Kim Goetz during the penguin breeding season, 20 birds that hadn’t paired up were tagged and tracked in the eastern Ross Sea. These birds dived 96,000 times over six months, and while most dives were around the five-minute mark, one lasted a record-breaking 32.2 minutes. (Previously, the longest dive was 27.6 minutes.) Penguins dive in order to catch fish, krill and squid, and the study found they dived deeper and longer during the day and at twilight, consistent with using eyesight to hunt.

Penguins are the beautiful seabirds that are rare to see, and that is the reason why lots of people have queries about their habitat and living style. It is true that penguins cannot fly, but they are excellent swimmers under the water. So, how long can penguins hold their breath there?

The time of holding the breath varies with the size and category of the penguins. To know the answer in detail, you need to read the below article where we will tell you about the breath-holding timings of the penguins and also share with you some valuable info regarding the same.

How Longer the Penguins Can Hold Their Breath?

The big size penguins such as emperors can hold their breath for a more extended time under the water than the small size penguins like little blue penguins. The bigger size penguins can smoothly go 1700 ft. under the water with the hold of their breath for around 18 minutes quickly. Similarly, the small size penguins can only go about 200 ft. under the water, and it is not possible for them to hold their breath for more than one minute.

Penguins spend their maximum time of life in the water, and this makes them good swimmers too. According to a recent study, these seabirds spend around 76 % of their life in the water. Isn’t it amazing?

Penguins have to dive below the water for catching their food in the sea or ocean. But for doing this, they require oxygen for breathing under the water. On an average basis, the maximum number of penguin’s species can stay under the water for around 6 minutes as their maximum prey survives in the upper levels of the water.

On the other hand, the larger Penguins eat foods like fish, squid, or krill which stays deep below the water. Thus these kinds of penguins might hold their breath for around 18 minutes. They are also recognized to dive approximately 1,800 feet for catching their prey.

One more species of penguins is the Gentoo that recognized for diving up to 500 feet. Dissimilar to the seals, the breed of penguins are comparatively smaller in size. Thus their lungs could grasp only that much oxygen. Furthermore, at the bottom of the sea, density impacts the air sacs and lungs of the penguins. These critical airways might only supply 1/3rd of the needed oxygen required for every single dive.

How Can the Penguins Hold Their Breath for so Long Under the Water?

In one of the recent research that accomplished over the penguins in the region of Antarctica reveals specific shocking adaptions inside the muscle tissues and blood of the penguin for raising the oxygen in the period of an underwater dive. Such penguins fixed with distinctive sensors that help in monitoring their body’s air level.

Dissimilar to the human beings, the extreme-delicate hemoglobin existing inside the red blood cells of the penguins let them to successfully make use of every single last particle of oxygen in their body for diving. Inside their body, the blood is directed mostly to the brain, heart, and other central tissues.

The hemoglobin of penguins is so useful that they can do the diving even if the other creatures might get hurt from a severe injury to the tissues. Moreover, the muscle tissues of the penguin to benefit them in breathing easily below the water. Their muscle tissues might stock extra oxygen with the help of large quantities of the myoglobin which is a blood protein.

Moreover, an exceptional enzyme let the muscles of penguin to function without the existence of oxygen along with the counterbalancing of the lactic acid accumulation. As soon as the penguins touch the coast surface and get back to the regular inhalation, they might at that time eject this accumulation of lactic acid. For saving more oxygen intake, the penguins could decrease their heart rate for around five beats in one single minute. So, when they utilize less energy, it helps them in staying under the water for a longer time.

How Can the Penguins Hold Their Breath for so Long During the Swimming Nearby the Surface of Water?

It is right to say that the Penguins can dive well in the deeper levels of the water, however, at times it might be required to swim near the surface of the water. Certain classes of penguins utilize the swimming and breathing practice known as porpoising, termed after dolphins and porpoises. These aquatic birds arise up for getting the air and then breathe in and breathe out quickly. At that time they begin to breathe without intruding their movement frontward. They dive out and dive into the water. These birds can uphold a speed of around seven mph during the porpoising. On the other hand, this porpoising practice not generally perceived in Emperor or king penguins.

Numerous species of penguins are too quick at diving in the water as they don’t desire that their prey get off from that particular space. The Adelie penguins could speed up from 0 mph to 16 mph that benefits them in evading the leopard seal’s sluggish swimming at the rate of 4-mph.

Conclusion:

If somebody asks you how long can penguins hold their breath now you know that what needs to be said? Are we right?

Penguins have an outstanding quality to do swimming in diverse ways along with the hold on their breath correctly. These birds can swing back and forth on a water surface and in the water or ice with their belly. Inside the sea, penguins might swim nearby to the coast or dive underneath the water.

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